This week is a twofer! Ash Wednesday is tomorrow and we begin Lent with this passage from Mark 9:30-37. Working Preacher commentary here. While Jesus tries to teach the disciples about the suffering, betrayal, and death that he’s heading toward, the disciples are arguing about which of them is the greatest. Not their finest moment,… Read More
Sunday Prayer: Mountaintops
We climb the mountain to wait. Surrounded by a cloud, we wait. While the nations conspire, we wait. When brightness overwhelms us, we wait. Through the long night, we wait. Until the Spirit speaks, we wait. As we wait, we are already: your witnesses, your inheritance, your collaborators, your beloved vessels, your anointed, your freedom.… Read More
Saturday Prayer: Morning Fog
Holy One, I’m behind — a bit frazzled because the day ahead is full of tasks and Sunday preparation. But even after coffee and a workout and a bracing shower, I feel… foggy. My to-do list is not done. My willpower is missing. My sermon is… missing, too. Clear away the cobwebs, sweep my distractions… Read More
Friday Festival
Remembering her own mountaintop journeys prompts Martha Spong to reflect on the mystery of the Transfiguration. She poses an interesting question about what the disciples – and we – perceive. “In this era of propaganda and marketing, social media and political campaigns, our perceptions are being messed with all the time. What are we noticing? Has truth changed? How… Read More
Sunday Prayer: Choosing Life & Death
Holy and Gracious God: Today we choose life — the bloom of hope, the breath of humility, the proximity of tenderness. Holy and Mysterious God: Today we choose death — the sunset of greed, the erosion of pride, the burial of violence. Holy and Creative God: Today we choose prosperity — the harvest of peace,… Read More
Saturday Prayer: Loved from Above
O Holy One, Your love surrounds me! Even when I walk with deep troubles, Even when I don’t yet see the dawn, Even when I know in my mind (but it hasn’t reached my heart) That you are always there. In deep darkness, I don’t see the whys and the whats and the whens… But… Read More
11th Hour Preacher Party: Making the Best of It
Last Saturday, I spent the day at an all-day meeting for my Presbytery. But, to make the best of it, I left home early enough to enjoy an hour at the beach nearby! (Incidentally, this portion of our coast was hit hard by Hurricane Harvey in 2017. They are still in recovery from physical damage… Read More
Ask the Matriarch: Congregation Negatively Impacted by Former Pastor
One of the most difficult and courageous things a pastor will ever do is discerning when it is time to leave a congregation. Even more difficult are the follow-up actions of leaving well, leaving completely, and supporting the new pastor of your former congregation. The following story is real, all-too-common, and deeply painful. Dear Matriarchs:… Read More
Wednesday Prayer
February, God. February. February teaches us – yet again – your surprises. The shortest month feels like the longest, shaming us when the Christmas box is still out, while we plan for Lent. The shortest month feels like the longest, God, testing our hope, in this in-between time. We would shorten the strange weather, and… Read More
Narrative Lectionary: Who's Corban? Whose Corban? (Mark 7:1-23)
Once my children went to preschool and then on to kindergarten, they were very alert to hand washing. Now, of course, I taught them to wash their hands after the potty and before eating, etc., but school and teachers brought that lesson into full force. I do utterly and completely believe in hand washing, but… Read More
